Monday, April 29, 2013

I have no idea how this happened, but pretty much everything I have made lately is green. I probably shouldn't over analyze that too much, right? It would require way too much brainpower for a Monday morning.....Green is basically my favorite color. Well, almost. Really teal is. Then green. Then purple and orange are tied. But I digress. What I am saying is, it's pretty up there. I wonder what Google has to say about that:

Green Flowers (or ivy, vines)

Anybody who has endured a long winter will tell you how jazzed they get at the first glimmer of green in spring. The meaning of flower color in green is about renewal, growth, hope, health and youth. Think of luscious emerald lawns, the smell rich with juicy goodness. You can’t help but smile at the thought. Green is also the color of the heart chakra, and so it takes on the meaning of good health. Bright green is the color of Mother Nature at her highest peak. Feel her bounty and embrace her gifts of harvest and health. Express these sentiments by giving a verdant ivy to a friend or loved one today!

Ooh, I am so happy I checked! Such a nice thing to hear after my nightmare last night. I got lost for 45 minutes in downtown Brooklyn...at 11:30 at night. I promise you I left half my brain cells somewhere between Canal Street and the Jackie Robinson Parkway. Um yeah, so if you see any, just give me a call. You know it's not good when you turn to your passenger and say "You know those neighborhoods that you are not supposed to stop at red lights. I wonder if this is one of them."

Just sayin...yep. All in a day's work...

Love this macro- doesn't it look like some kind of cool coral reef in the Caribbean or something?

Mr. and Mrs. Awesome Boss made a party for Big D.'s co worker who just got married, and you know wherever the CantStopBaking's go, cake goes too. The color scheme was purple and green, my favorite color combination:

My favorite part of the cake: bling!!

Last but definitely not least, a cake for my gorgeous nephew's upsherin:

Monday, April 22, 2013

Its absolutely amazing what a new baby will do to the previous youngest of the family. I bet some of you know exactly what I am talking about. As much as I try to focus on showering S-monkey with love and attention, end of the day, he's been kicked off his Youngest throne and landed flat on his adorable rump. Not much fun, I would imagine. Now here is the amazing part: Kids have this inner mechanism that kicks in when they have been dethroned. I'm not sure if it's all kids or just mine, but here is how it goes in his head (and again, I am speculating here):

Hmmm, everyone is going crazy over Little Monkey (still haven't found a nickname for him that stuck yet)....why is that? He cries all day,so that can't be it. Spits all over the place, so that's not it. I asked Mommy to please bring the baby back because I really wanted a girl monkey and that didn't work...Only clue I've got is that everyone says "Oh, Little Monkey is soooo cute! If I want my throne back, I better be CUTER than him...

And yeah, that's pretty much how it's been for the past few months. S-Monkey's cute meter has shot through the roof. Seriously, the words that come out of his mouth, I just can't stop laughing. So I guess his plan is basically working.

Here is the latest birthday cake for S-Monkey, keeping up with his latest Frog obsession. And yes, thats Frog with a capital F.

Monday, April 15, 2013

I know my appearance around here has been a bit spotty. Good thing no one is taking attendance. I wanted to clarify something this morning. When there are no recipes up on CSB, there is no cake in the CSB household. Just wanted to make sure no one thought I am too busy fressing on cake and cookies to drop in and post something drool worthy for you. 'Cuz I care about you guys, ya know. And if you don't have cake, I won't have cake. And kind of by default, vice versa. Just wanted to make that clear. So in honor of my poor attendance, here's is something mind boggling for you:

Cream Filled Cookies

Cookies:

2 ½ cups all-purpose, unbleached flour

½ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup margarine

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder together. Set aside.Cream together the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla; beat on high until well combined. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the melted chocolate. Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, beating on low after each addition. Beat just until the dough comes together.Cover bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough on a surface lightly coated with a mixture of flour and cocoa to about a ¼" thick. Cut with a 3" round cookie cutter (For jumbo cookies as pictured) Place the cut-outs on a prepared baking sheet and place in the freezer for 5-10 min. (This will prevent spreading.) Bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes, or until done. Allow cookies to cool completely. Makes approximately 22 jumbo cookies.

Cream Filling:

2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons cold water, or enough to make the filling cohesive

Combine ingredients in mixing bowl. Mix on medium speed until combined. You may need to add water- 1 teaspoon at a time. Divide the filling equally between cookies. Roll a ball of filling in your hand and press flat onto the cookie with your palm.

In a medium bowl, whisk the cocoa powder and powdered sugar together.Add the corn syrup and milk, whisking until smooth.The glaze will be very thick, but still pourable. Transfer to a piping bag, fitted with a #12 tip, or to a zip-top bag and snip the corner.Pipe the glaze in a circle onto the cookies. The glaze will spread, so don't go too close to the edges. If some spills over the edge, it's ok.Let the cookies dry for at least one hour before adding the white squiggle. You can use this recipe for royal icing for the squiggle. ( It will make WAAY more than needed for 22 squiggles, so you can definitely cut the recipe in half. You can also refrigerate leftover royal icing for a different time.